The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Acts 26:24-29, “And while Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, ‘Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.’
25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth.
26 “For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner.
27 “King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do.”
28 And Agrippa Acts replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.”
29 And Paul said, “I would to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains.”

Someone once asked, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” It’s an amusing question, yet it requires a soberingly truthful response. What kind of a “Christian” are you?

The Apostle Paul was charged by the Jews with teaching things that were contrary to their beliefs. This is now his fifth occasion to give testimony. He first spoke to the Jews, as he stood under Roman guard (Acts 22). He then spoke before the Jewish Council (Acts 23); then before Felix (Acts 24); then before Festus (Acts 25); and finally before Agrippa (Acts 26). On each of these occasions, Paul boldly stood his ground and firmly avowed that Jesus Christ had arisen from the dead.

On his defense before King Agrippa, Paul daringly and pointedly asked, “King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do.” Would we be so bold to ask this of important governmental officials today? I should hope we would! According to a recent survey of those serving in our American Congress, over 80 percent claim to be Christians. Yet, their positions on legislative matters are often contrary to the biblical principles they profess to believe and uphold.

Sadly, the word “Christian” often today simply conveys that one is not without a “religious position.” The Scriptures, however, affirm that a true “Christian” is one who has repented of sin and has trusted the LORD Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Far too often those in “high places” (both in government and business) claim they are Christians, but live and behave as if they are not. That’s even true of some who claim to have been called of God to minister His Truth as pastors and leaders in the church.

May the LORD help us to be bold in our witness! At the same time, we are to be honest and loving; we are to be concerned for others, and not puffed up over the fact of our boldness. We are accountable to witness and we are accountable to be gentle and loving of those to whom we witness. There is no evidence that Agrippa ever truly trusted Jesus, but he was certainly on the threshold. We might be surprised to know how many truly want to know Jesus, even as they laugh and jest at our witness. Be bold! Be loving! Be consistent! Be humble! Be prayerful! Be prepared! Be thankful. God bless you as you live to do His will.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Numbers 17:11-13, “Moses then said to Aaron, ‘Take a censer, put fire in it from the altar, place incense on it and hurry to the community to perform the rite of expiation for them: for retribution has come from Yahweh, plague has broken out.’
12 Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the middle of the community, but plague had already broken out among the people. He put in the incense and performed the rite of expiation for the people.
13 Then he stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped.
14 There were fourteen thousand seven hundred victims of the plague, apart from those who died because of Korah.”

The word plague () ????????maggepha( is mentioned more than 70 times in the Bible. It means: a blow, a slaughter, or a pestilence. What we are experiencing in the world today has brought forth historical thoughts of the Black Plague that occurred in the world in the mid-14th Century. Termed “the Black Death,” because black sores broke out on human flesh, it has been estimated that between 25 to 30 million deaths occurred, taking some 200 hundred years for European countries to recuperate completely.

“There were so many deaths and so many bodies that the authorities did not know what to do with them, and carts piled high with corpses became common across Europe. It seemed the only course of action was to stay put, avoid people, and pray.”

The Covid pandemic that we are currently experiencing may well be a judgment the LORD is bringing against our nation. It is easy to blame others, but we would do well to examine ourselves. We have allowed millions of innocent children to be aborted. We have corrupted our own morality, allowing crassness and filth to pervade the society in which we live. We have lessened the depths of serious worship and brushed aside ancient Biblical truths. We have trivialized those elements the LORD terms as sacred, sweeping away what is not convenient to our decadent lifestyles. Then we dare to approach the LORD God for mercy without the slightest thought of repentance.

It is time for us to engage in serious repentance for our sins. We are as a nation what we are as its citizenry. We who fail to speak up are as culpable as those who won’t shut up. We engage in willful disobedience to the principles of the God we purport to worship. We’re learning how to “stay put” and “avoid people.” When will be learn to engage in serious, soul-searching prayer?

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Acts 22:6-10, “”And it came about that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,
7 and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
8 “And I answered, ‘Who art Thou, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’
9 “And those who were with me beheld the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.
10 “And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go on into Damascus; and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’”

In my evangelistic ministry, it was sometime appropriate to have those who had committed their lives to Christ to openly share with others what had actually taken place in their lives, as they were committed to Christ.. In the verses above, we are encountering the Apostle Paul doing that very thing. He is recounting to crowd of Jews in Jerusalem what had happened to him on the Road to Damascus, as recorded in Acts chapter 9.

Notice that Paul asked only two questions. The first was, “Who are you, Lord?” The bright light was unique, and Paul recognized that whoever was causing the brightness was superior to him. That’s the first step in coming to know Jesus. He is superior to you, just as He was to Paul. Paul’s second question was, “What shall I do?” Paul was not immediately given precise instructions from the LORD relative to what he was to do. Yet, it was an acknowledgement of his willingness to obey. Obedience almost always has several steps.

The first step is to recognize the LORD’s superiority. He is superior over all things. He created the worlds and all that is within them. He holds the planets and stars in place; therefore, He is competent to superintend your life and all things within it. Have you recognized His superiority? That is the first step.

The second step is to surrender your life totally and completely to Jesus? Here, you give your life’s activities totally to Christ Jesus, just as Paul did when he asked, “What shall I do?” Some of you who are reading this are of the age that you are wondering what you are to do in life. Others of you made that choice on your own years ago. Now, you are asking, “How do I start over? I trained for what I am now; how do I change everything at my advanced age? You begin from where you are. The LORD has known His purpose for your life all along. He will now guide you from your current age onward. It will amaze you how He will transform your abilities to suit His purpose! That’s what trust and faith are all about. From this time forward, the LORD will lead and guide your life.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Acts 20:22-24, “And now, behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there,
23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.
24 “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and the ministry which
I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”

Military people understand that they are always subject to deployment without knowing where they are going or why.
It is much the same with the LORD. He doesn’t always tell us what He is doing or how our lives are involved. In all likelihood,
He conceals things from us to keep us from shirking our responsibilities.

En route to Jerusalem, Paul stopped at Ephesus to greet some old friends. He knows he is going to Jerusalem, but not
specifically what will occur when he arrives. He only knows that “bonds and afflictions” (imprisonments and tribulations) are
awaiting him. Undoubtedly, his stopover in Ephesus is to seek the prayers of old friends in the faith. Possibly, this will also be
his last opportunity to see them.

You and I may not be facing physical or emotional persecution because of our stand for our faith in Christ, but whatever lies
ahead for us is best faced with the supportive prayers of our friends in the faith. At the same time, we should never put the
preservation of ourselves ahead of our calling. We are not in charge of our lives! We committed ourselves to Christ when we
trusted Him as our LORD and Savior. We have a course to finish, a responsibility to which we must attend. Self-concern must
be laid aside. Christ is our Supreme Commander! His directive is uppermost. What has He called you to do?

The LORD wants each of us to be spiritually clean. He wants us to pray. He wants us to witness of Him. Whatever difficulties
we encounter simply do not matter! Our ultimate reward in Heaven supersedes all hurts we may encounter here on Earth.
Stay faithful! He is coming soon! “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Acts 20:7-12, “And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.
8 And there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together.
9 And there was a certain young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor, and was picked up dead.
10 But Paul went down and fell upon him and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.”
11 And when he had gone back up, and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed.
12 And they took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.”

There’s a cute little story of a small boy who was asked which preacher he liked best: the pastor or the bishop.
He said he liked the pastor best because he says, “Finally,” at it is final. But the bishop says, “Lastly,” and it lasts and lasts and lasts. Well, the Apostle Paul could have been classed with the bishop because “he prolonged his message until midnight.” What’s more, no one is registered as having complained. We wouldn’t dare turn off the TV before the game was over, but we all-too-often wish the pastor had shortened his message.

The Greek word for “young man” is neanias. Friberg says it is an older, unmarried boy, somewhere around 24 or so years of age. In any event, it seems he was too old to have fallen asleep during Paul’s message –and on the very eve of his departure. It was probably quite warm in that crowded, upper room, and Eutychus had positioned himself on the window sill, blocking what cooler air there might have been from outside. All of this prompts me to ask: do you choose the best seat in church for yourself, despite the needs of others? And do you truly concentrate on what your pastor says in his sermons? Or does your mind wander as you wonder if and when he will conclude?

You will probably (and hopefully) will never suffer death, as with Eutychus. And were you to die, there might not be one present like Paul who could miraculously revive you. Was the young man, Eutychus, used of Satan to distract the people from Paul’s message? Probably. Do you allow distractions to steer you away from the message of the Word? Hopefully not! We are living in very troublesome times. We drastically need the message of God’s Word! Yes, ministers are responsible to teach and instruct us; and we are responsible to hear and obey.
I pray for my pastors daily, even as I pray for you. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psa 46:1).

Heartily in Christ,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom